Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-01-09
NEW YORK LETTER.
LIGHTS on LIFE IN TIE MsrRoPoLI-
TAN CITY.
h.RoSber's Den Raided-rhe Collector =
Society and stage Gossip-Hired
Clothes, &C &c, &c.
.l,.rr.anonn.nn. ortne Rlcnmopd pIspAtoh.

a wear past has been tho most dangerous den
IN New York. IL would require the pen OF
a Dickens 10 adequately describe II. lm-
seiuc a small. dingy room far In the rear OF
,be surrounding buildings. where nightly
hand Of the most desperate criminals con.
s,soated 10 pass the hours from midnight
mill daybreak In smoking, drinking, sing
ing. and disappearing.
!, derived lis name, "The Glass Barrel"
from an Illuminated beer beg made OF glass
uhich hung from IN iron rod above tue en-
trance. Outwardly II appeared ike any
nra,rarv basement saloon, but inwsrdly
xssa "wbiied sCpulchre,' q moral char-
ri house OF dead mems bones"
TO gain eutrsncet 10 the interior u was ne
ces.ary 10 pas through labyrinth oil DARK
and narrow passages, inclosed oy heayy
wooden doors, which were opened ana
clo.,d one after another 10 ADMIT tne VS.
ior. once inside, the loudcst s1fleSs LOT
assistauce would he unayalllng. IherS was
oDly one time N see this pace III an i.s
glory. and tat was about . OF o'OoS ~ ~
the morning. At that hour 'ne room wa
filed with men and gTS, dr'na,ns
beer and singing ribald songs "Itn-
ont fear Of police interference. One
taco seen there nightly was that
~ n beautiful Young girl called "Hell."
She was the chief attraction OF the place,
Tor she could play Wild airs at the piano,
sing Questionable songs IN a loud, clear
voice. and dance with grace and abandon
truly remarkable. la appearance she IL
TAN and symmetrical, with golden hair,
liebt blue ewes, and features strikinQly re-
fined. She was the queen OF the Glass
Rarrel,n more beautiful, more despairing,
aud more dcpraved than her sisters, placed
above their envy by the superiority OF her
charms and talents, and cJurted by the men
for her priority in vice.
one OF her subjects aud closest friends
WAS the notorious shop-llter aud mIsque-
raider in mems clothing known 10 the
police AZ "Sbort, Haired Lizzie" This
woman Is now in the state prison. When
she was at large the "Glass Barrel was
her headquarters. Here she could have
been seen every night surrounded by her
comrades. many Of them Doyiccs IN vice,
drinking until daylight found her supplied
in her corner. Sbort-iIaired Lizzie
had a large wardrobe Of mems attire,
and always appeared natlily dressed
when nasquerading as man. pressed
az a woman she was slOyeuly IN The
extreme, while her square-set Jaws and
cruel mouth rendered her repulsiye even
10 her comrades. Among other notorious
..cIooks" who frequented this den were
Harlem Charlie" one OF the most sue
cessful workers Of the "Flim- Flam
came, and man Of several aliases, who
lad no specially in crime, but was pdrticu-
iarly remarkable for the daring OF his theits.
Tlc.e men, with 'numbcTless other eY.c0n-
Wet, and "boodlers,' met In the "Glass
Barrel" nightly.
Their conversation was carried on wholly
in the lingo Of crooks, for here they could
openly brag Of their exploits without fear.
II was moi a pleasant place TO enter.
As passage after passage closed upon the
visitor he became aware OF his utter help
h,,uess i'm case OF trouble. Once inside
me hardened anG debauched faces, djmly
seen through clOuGs Of tObaccO-smoke, and
The rtyclry Of the inmates filled one with
tenor. About ,'Clock in the morning a
wild can.can va INDUCED in by the girls,
Hen in the ceniIr. She could kick "A mans
hat from his gr:-p SIX feet from the ground.
The room then became a perfect pandemo-
mum. and Tie visitor was glad 10 make his
escape.
HAT such a den could have existed in
respectable neighbOrho0d for so long
time unmOested by the police is indeed a
mystery. IL was situated within block OF
the Bible House, just back OF the huge iron
store built by a. I. Stewart.
the COLLECTOR or TUE PORT OF NEw YORK.
Daniel Magonc. the new collector Of the
port Of New York, seems to be attracting
more than the usual share OF public atten-
ton iusl now. The WOrldan Brick POme-
roy are POUNDING him, and there are many
stories afloat IN country newspapers con-
cduing his abrupt manners and lack OF
courtesy. Mr.. MagOne Is not an freshman.
as hi- name might indicate. He Is "a New
York Yankee, a lawyer from the largest
county I'm the state, and Democratic p0li-
tician. who, rs q Tlden leader dealt many
. hsId blow 10 John Kelly in state COuven-
lions. He l. certainly more accessible than
his predecessors. No dOOrkeeper waylays
his callers. His room IS open 10 very one,
and he dispatches business with eIse and
CELEBRITY. lie is tail, thin, and clerical zap.
IeaIsnce. A white moustache aud iron-gray
hair, with Keen blue eyes, gave him some
resemblance 10 the late Fernando Wood.
He i pear,ighied. and this defect gives
visitors who lack nerve in pressing them
selves upon ms attention the impression
that they have been Sighted. lie remains
IN his Office from 4. NJ. until shutdown.
Like most men who pay clese attention To
IMNIiIfN~s if ulhllkNN iDDE Hlbllo oih NbAl-
plimeniaty speeches. The visitor who
knows What he wants, and has the faculty
81 telling II In the ieweSt words is treated
tn the utmos: urbanity. The collector
urC,Ses the buttons at his desk and calls
The heads Of different departments TO the
room, unravellins tariff knots and making
everything perfectly plain. lie has the
rules and regulations governing the custom
house At hand, and fills them 20 the letter.
" can't be held responsible for defect in
tie law" he said recently. Congress
made the law, and Congress must remedy
the defect. / cannot"
BY some strange oversight in the statutes |
theIe have been over one hundred yacan-
ciCs IN the custom-hOu,c for the last six
months tnat could not be flied until civil !
service examination, and such examine |
tion. under the law, could not be held until |
hi. month. school will soon be heguR IN |
earnest. with Commissioner Oglcsby and |
his colleagues behind the desk. Already /
there are scholars here from nearly every |
STATE IN the Union awaiting the !
opening Of the lists. 4 minority Of |
item are from New England. The |
commissioners themselves, 1t Is said, |
clam the right not only TO rate those who |
Uuss Examination, but to assign them places. |
This would leave the collector entirely out |
in the cold, and subject him TO a renewed |
pounding FROM undlScerning politicians. |
lie has Mr.. Ilewiit's nerves and nerve. The |
former may fail him at small annOyances, |
hut the latter will never give out.
After the school is over the rural element |
will probably secure a minority OF the w. 4
cant situations, and the Federal as we'll as 7
most OF the State offices In the city Will, as
usual, Zoe ruled by men who cannot tell !
sixth avenue from the BOweTy.
HIRED CLOTHES.
On the day after Christmas young
friend who y trying 10 cut dash on yerv
small capital told me he had bued about
$500 worth OF secondhand iewelry aud
silyerwarc from second hand ieweler in
the BOwery for week. He displayed It in
his paIlor With cars on each piece marked
" From Aunt julia" From Mrs.
W,alhcrhee," From Uncle Ambrose"
Sc, all fictitious names. II cost him
S25 and q guarantee deposit. The jewell
Ter told him that these valuables
with second hand wedding. birthday, and
holiday gifts received by the impecuuious
from rich friends aud relatives and In
siantly sold 90 make both ends meet. That
i sn old story, aud so may be the use my
fraudulent friend put these things 20,
though never heard OF the latter before.
There are several such iewelry stores, and
In al Of them the thrifty and the spend
tbIifts meet side by side. The spendthrltts
sell their gifts and the thrifty buy them 10
a